The Dani Jamerson Band will kick off Country Bash 2.0 with their song “Exit 128.” Submitted photo
Country Bash 2.0 is this year’s incarnation of the country music show hosted at The Gate in Big Rapids and organized by Ferris State’s music industry management students. Headlining the show this year is Lance Carpenter and the opening performance is The Dani Jamerson Band.
The Dani Jamerson Band is headed by singer and songwriter Dani Jamerson of Sherwood. She started playing music her freshman year of high school. She said it was an outlet to help her deal with a group of girls, calling them “mean girls in real life.” Jamerson draws from many places musically, including rock, pop and rap.
“I sing and write country music, but musically it has a lot of rock elements,” said Jamerson. “My brother’s favorite band is the Foo Fighters, and I’ve since grown to love what they do. I would say my style is very country-rock.”
Jamerson said the songs she’s chosen to play at The Gate represent her best because she has a short amount of time to tell the audience who she is. One song she’s chosen to play and is most proud of is called “Exit 128.”
“[Exit 128] is a song about driving by an exit and thinking of all the memories of the person who lives off of it, and kind of this internal battle of, ‘Should I pull off and go see him? Should I keep going and try to get over it?’” said Jamerson. “It’s a very specific, personal song that I was afraid wouldn’t resonate with other people, but I feel like everyone has that exit.”
Lance Carpenter, the headlining act for Country Bash 2.0, is from Ozark, Ark. Carpenter has made his home Nashville since 2011. He released his first album in 2013, self-titled “Lance Carpenter,” and he’s recently celebrated his first #1 song on Country Radio alongside co-writer Kelsea Ballerini, “Love Me Like You Mean It.”
“I’m just excited to come up and sing for ya’ll,” Carpenter said. “This is my first college show and I’m ready to have some fun.
Country Bash is a work of love by Ferris State student Morgan Radners. A junior in music industry management and a member of the Music Industry Management Association (MIMA), Radners is passionate about country music. Radners was one of two organizers working on the first Country Bash, and she’s the sole organizer of this year’s event.
“Coming from MIMA, there’s not a lot of country music fans in MIMA specifically, but in Big Rapids there are,” Randers said. “I feel like we have a job to represent country music in our program.”
Radners was out scouting for talent earlier this year for musicians to play the show this October when she ran into Dani Jamerson after a show at The Intersection in Grand Rapids.
“The first song she sang I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she has to play Country Bash. We need her to play Country Bash!’” said Radners. “’I said, ‘I have a show I’m putting on, I want you to play it, and I want no one but you to play it. Will you play it?’ and she was so excited about it.”
Mellisa Lewis, a music industry management senior, was the co-organizer of the 2014 Country Bash with Radners.
“We wanted to make [Country Bash] more of an experience rather than just live music,” Lewis said. “You know, that’s the most important part. We just wanted it to be a fun time and we tell people, ‘Wear your boots and your cowboy hats and have a good time.’
Lance Carpenter’s music can be found at www.lancecarpentermusic.com
Dani Jamerson’s music can be found at www.reverbnation.com/danijamersonband.
Tickets for Country Bash 2.0 are $5 presale and $10 at the door. Tickets can be purchased from any MIMA member or in room 124 in the Business Building.
Country Bash 2.0 is on Friday, Oct.16 at The Gate. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music starts at 9 p.m.